Withernsea man prosecuted for dog fouling

A Withernsea man who persistently failed to clean up after his dogs has been told to pay over £700 after being prosecuted for a second time.

Trevor Sleet, 76, Bannister Street, Withernsea, was charged with failing to clean up after his dog after an unaccompanied dog was seen fouling on a grassed area on Seathorne/Queen Street area on 30 January 2017 by a dog warden from East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

Sleet was found walking three other dogs on the beach and refused to give his details to the dog warden but a witness statement by a member of the public identified the unaccompanied dog as belonging to him.

He failed to appear at Hull Magistrates Court on Friday, 7 April but pleaded guilty to the charge by post, which was accepted by magistrates and he was fined £400 for the offence, has to pay costs of £304 and a victim surcharge of £40.

Sleet was convicted of the same offence by magistrates in March 2015 while in 2013 he was issued with two fixed penalty notices for failing to clean up after his dogs.

David Howliston, environmental control manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Dog fouling is an issue that the council takes very seriously.

“Where we can identify irresponsible dog owners we do take actions and where we find repeat offenders, we will not hesitate to put the matter before the courts again.

“In the last 12 months, the council has served a record number of £75 fixed penalty notices but we need the public’s help to keep up our campaign against irresponsible dog owners.

“We need to make sure our dog wardens are in the right place at the right time and in order to do that we need information from the public if they see or know of anyone who regularly allows their dog to foul and doesn’t clean it up.”